Counter for telephone coin-receivers



GEORGE E. REISS, OF CINCINNATI,

OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES SNYDER, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO.

COUNTER FOR TELEPHONE COIN -RECEIVERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10, 1919.

Application filed December 14, 1916. Serial N 0. 136,839.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEoReE E. REIss, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Cincinnati, in the county 'of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Counters for Telephone Coin-Receivers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to coin counters adapted to be simply and easily installed in the coin boxes of telephones. In the device used at present for coin receiving in pay telephones, the apparatus consists in a movable part which carries the coin, and a contacting part which is operated by the coin which causes a sound such as ringing a bell, tapping a coil and striking a spring finger, for the various denominations of coin.

It is my object to provide a counting device which can be inserted in such an instrument without disturbing any of its parts, and which will be coin operated. It is designed to provide for counters in the coin drawer of such instruments and to so arrange the parts that the drawers can be drawn out at any time bringing the counters with them, and that the operating parts for the counters will be out of the way of the drawer except when being moved to register on the counters.

My mechanismis adapted throughout to the present standard coin receiver for telephones, and I accomplish the various advantages above noted by that certain construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more specifically pointed out and claimed.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device in a coin receiver, the front of the re ceiver being removed.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, showing the drawer in sect1on for purposes of clearness.

The device has a casing 1 in the base of which is a coin drawer 2, which is usually provided with lock and key (not shown) to V prevent theft of the coins. In the top of the box and set at a suitable slant are in this'instance three coin chutes 3, one for nickels, one for dunes and one for quarters. Mounted in the box below the chutes is a rock shaft 4 which has an operating handle 5. On this shaft are three frames 6 for receiving the coins as they fall from the chutes. These frames are in the form of narrow pockets with slots 7 cut through both sides of the pocket-forming parts, and with extensions 8 to shut off the chutes on movement of the frames.

When the coins fall into the pockets, they will pass directly through them and fall into the drawer if the coin is not a size to be caught by the noses 8 in the pockets; if the coins are caught by the noses they Will then be in a position to block the slots in the pocket forming pieces.

The frames are fast on the rock shaft and when the handle is .depressed, the frames will swing in an arc, thereby operating the sounding mechanism which serves to inform the operator that the coin has been deposited. On one of the frames (not shown in Fig. 1) is a spring 9 which serves to return the rock shaft after being operated, and a suitable plunger 10 acts as a stop for the shaft and frames, in the usual manner.

The spring and plunger are secured to one of the extension plates 8. The showing of this structure as so far described is formal only as it is intended to indicate any desired coin receiving device. The plunger structure has no bearing on the invention herein. A fixed shaft 11 is mounted at the front of the device just out of the way of the frames when they are swung, and on this shaft for the nickels is a lever 12 which taps a bell 13. For the dimes there is a spring finger 13 and for the quarters there is another lever 14- on the shaft which strikes a coil gong 15. The levers and finger lie in the path of the frames and if there is no coin in the frame, the position of said parts is such that the slots in the frames will permit them to pass said levers and finger without operating the sound producing devices. Should a coin be in any one of the slots, the sounder will work and the operator hearing the correct sound will know that the correct amount has been deposited in the machine.

The movement of the rockshaft is such that it will carry the coins far enough to 'allow them to fall out of the pockets and drop into the drawer beneath, where they can be removed from the machine. The details of construction of the sounding device are not important, since the essential features thereof are that the coins are moved through an arc to operate the sounders and that they then drop into a drawer.

Mounted on the shaft 11, one for each coin pocket, are fingers 16, which lie in the path of the coin frames, and in line with the slots therein, and pivoted to the fingers 16 are rods 17. For each rod 17 there is a bell crank 18 which is spring-held at 19 and vpivoted to a rod 20. The bell cranks are mounted on a cross shaft 18. The'rods 20 are pivoted to bell cranks 21 which are connected to the plungers 22 that slide in guides 23 at the rear wall of the casing of the device. These guides and plungers are located so that in normal position the plungers lie above'the drawer 2.

On the ends of the plungers are pawls 2 1 that serve to operate the counters, and it can be readily seen from the above description that when a coin is inserted in the machine and the handle depressed, that the coin will cause the plungers to descend carrying their pawls below the line of the drawer, by means of the fingers, rods and bell cranks above noted. Then when the handles are released after the coins have been dropped out of their pockets into the drawer, the bell crank springs will draw the plunger-s and pawls up out of the way of the drawer so that they will not interfere with its withdrawal from the box 1.

The counters 25, three in number in this instance, are mounted on a shelf 26 screwed to the back of the drawer. At the end of each counter is a ratchet 27 which is protected from the front by a curved guard 28 that forms part of the counter housing 29;

The pawls pass down behind the curved guards in such a way'as to contact with the teeth of the ratchet and thereby cause the counters to be operated. If desired, suitable pawls may be provided to prevent the reverse movement of the ratchets without mutilating the counters and the housing and guard. These are not shown, as any desired counter system is to be used and nodetails of the counter system have been shown, 7 since the invention resides 1n the operating mechanism for the counters and not in the counters themselves, except of course their location in the machine.

These counters with ratchets as 27, are on sale inhardware stores, and any desired type. may be employed.

It can be seen that the coin collector, by removing the drawer, can withdraw the coins that have been placed in the machine 7 and at the same time can check his count by means of the counters. The counters can be 7 ordinarily movable in one direction only, can not be tampered with and on lnspectlon of the counters it can be seen whether the collector has turned in all of his collections.

The owner of the premises where the coin machine is located can also see the count in the machine drawer, and-thus can determine for himself as to the amount that is due to be compared with greatest ease, and with less chance of error. Then as preventing the tampering with the machine, it will be understood that the counters will usually be of a type which can not be turned except forward, thereby preventing the. coin col lector from reversely turning them, to cheat his employer.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Incombination witha telephone coin receiver casing, a removable drawer therein for deposit of the coins received, a plunger secured to the receiver casing normally held out of the path of the drawer, a counter device in the drawer so as to permit removal of the drawer without affecting the counter device, and a coin controlled operator for depressing the plunger to cause operation of the counter, when the drawer is in place in the receiver.

2. In combination with a telephone coin receiver and a common operator for the coin controlled sounders thereof, of a coin controlled lever mounted in the receiver and operated by said common operator, counter mechanism, a plunger on therear of the coin receiver operated by the lever, a coin drawer ger being adapted in normal position to clear the drawer so as to permlt its withdrawahrand to be depressed by the lever to enter said drawer and actuatethe counter mechanism. 7 I

V GEORGE E. BEI SSV Copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of 'ZEa tents,

' Washington, 1). G Y 

